Research Guides: Biology 162 General Biology II Cells and Molecules: Research Databases

Research Database Exploration Activity

Click the link below to complete the activity:

Database Exploration Activity

Research Question Converting to Search Terms

Steps to converting any research question into search term/query:

State your question
1. If you live in a seacoast area that receives saltwater from a tsunami, can you grow your usual plants the next year? Which plants can you grow? Explain how this relates to your experiment.
Identity key terms from your question
Plan your search strategy

Question elements	Keywords	Search Terms	Search Strategies
Saltwater
Tsunami
Plant growth
Seacoast

4. Execute the search in a library research database such as Science or OneSearch

Research Questions

Before you begin researching for supporting documentation from articles about your topic have a good idea of what you are searching for. This means:

Have your research question or thesis statement written
Identify key terms from your question or thesis statement to help you search for information

A. How are geneticists working to change plants to adapt to water of higher salinity? Which plants are they working on and why? Explain how this relates to your experiment.

B. If you live in a seacoast area that receives saltwater from a tsunami, can you grow your usual plants the next year? Which plants can you grow? Explain how this relates to your experiment.

C. How are soil scientists and agronomists working to control soil salinity? What crops are best to grow in saline soils? Explain how this relates to your experiment.

One Search Library Resources

Biology Databases

Where to begin your research for articles? Start with one of the discipline specific databases in the sciences listed below.

Recommended databases:

Environment Complete
PLoS One
Science in Context
OneSearch

Agricola This link opens in a new window
Containing bibliographic records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library, AGRICOLA provides millions of citations relating to the field of agriculture.
Agriculture This link opens in a new window
Includes newspapers, magazines, and journals in agriculture field.
Applied Science & Technology Source This link opens in a new window
This database offers a diverse array of full-text and indexed content covering the full spectrum of the applied sciences and computing disciplines — from acoustics to aeronautics, neural networks to nuclear engineering.
Environmental Studies & Policy This link opens in a new window
A great database for subjects about Soil, Science, and Management; Introduction to Agronomy; Food, Crops, & Environment; Fundamental Soil Science; and more.
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Find articles on topics such as ecology, natural resources, renewal energy, geography, pollution, urban planning, environmental policy, law and technology.
Gardening & Horticulture This link opens in a new window
Gardening, Landscape, and Horticulture Collection provides access to academic journals and magazines focused on both the practical aspects as well as the scientific theory of horticulture studies. The database offers biotechnologists, farmers, hobbyists, and landscape architects.
Environmental Studies This link opens in a new window
Focuses on the physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues. Topic, organization, and country portals form research centers around issues covering energy systems, health care, agriculture, climate change, population, and economic development.
National Agricultural Library - PubAg This link opens in a new window
PubAg is a portal to the agricultural research authored by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, delivering over 40,000 full-text journal articles and thousands more of journal citations.
PLoS One This link opens in a new window
An open-access, peer-reviewed e-journal collection providing over 95,000 articles in the sciences and social sciences.
Science This link opens in a new window
200 full-text science journals, science reference titles, thousands of multimedia records, science glossary, as well as national and state science standards.
Science Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Designed to meet every student researcher's needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, encyclopedias, reference books and a vast collection of images.

PubMed
PubMed® comprises more than 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Multi Subject Databases good for Biology

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary coverage of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Spanning many academic disciplines, this database covers all subject areas.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) This link opens in a new window
An open-access, peer-reviewed e-journal collection providing the content of over 9,700 scholarly and scientific journals.